The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and relevant links.

Mock Mirage Lunar Flash

This photo pair was captured early in the evening on July 20, 2005 from Quimper, Bretagne, France and shows a classic mock mirage or M-Mir type of flash. When a temperature inversion layer in the atmosphere (generally a warm layer of air overriding a cooler layer) produces abnormal atmospheric refraction and thus a mirage, the top of the Moon appears to detach and flash green. This effect is almost always observed very near the horizon, but on the above photo, because vertical waves in the atmosphere acted in such a way to curve the inversion layer, the flash was visible well above the horizon (more than 1 degree).